"N7 Day" will see the launch of the Mass Effect Trilogy and the debut of the original Mass Effect on the PlayStation 3.

N7 Day is coming! What's N7 Day, you ask? November 7, for one thing, but also a "worldwide celebration of the Mass Effect franchise," which will feature a variety of in-game, online and even live events. Don't feel too bad if you've never heard of it, because this year's event is the first.

It's also a good way to drum up attention for the Mass Effect Trilogy, which puts all three games together in one massive space opera package. The Trilogy is being released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, and yes, that means that the original Mass Effect is finally coming to the PS3. For PlayStation owners who have already played the second and third games and just want to find out what they missed in the first, a standalone version of Mass Effect will also be released on the PlayStation Network.

Say what you will about how Mass Effect 3 wrapped things up, but there's no denying that $59.99 for the entire Mass Effect collection is a ridiculously good deal. Running through the full Commander Shepard arc as a single epic will eat up a substantial chunk of the remainder of 2012, and it's a hell of a story, too. It's easy to be cynical about a package like this but if you haven't played it, or you haven't played it all, this is a great opportunity to jump in.

The Mass Effect Trilogy comes out on November 6 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, but not the Wii U, which will instead have the Mass Effect 3 Special Edition as a launch title. (A cynic might also wonder why you'd bother with that when you can get the entire series on another platform for the same price, but I'm not that kind of guy.) To find out more about the Trilogy and BioWare's N7 Day plans, keep your eyes on masseffect.com.

it will just be a matter of time until this trilogy is put on the WiiU I mean really it probably wouldn't be that hard if they are already going to have ME3 though they will probably give it some time, so it isn't to big a jump.

they are releasing this 1 day after Halo 4, so why are they even bothering with an Xbox release besides profit mongering?

will this also include like DLCs from the 3 games, or will it be just the games?

Would somebody please explain to me how Mass Effect is a good story? Villains are various and never well developed, the main character is completely wooden no matter what path you choose, and (speaking of choosing paths) the whole game is basically an invisible hallway simulator. It's a space game where there is no space gameplay. You are captain of a point and click ship. It was no different than the Kings quest games. Move something around and click on anything that lights up.

Terrible series. I had high expectations for it and it delivered on none of them.

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:So how exactly have they got ME1 onto the PS3? I was under the impression that Microsoft had the rights to that one, and I can't see them being all that thrilled with Sony getting their mitts on it.

it was probably an exclusivity deal with EA, and EA was the actual owner. you would be right if it came out of a Microsoft dev studio, but realistically what probably happened was that it was Microsoft owned the exclusive rights to ME1 for X years in exchange for assistance with marketing and distribution (which is pretty sweet as it drives down the actual cost of post production), and after x years the publisher can then sell copies on other systems it as they see fit.

realistically the only time "exclusive" is written in stone is when the rights to the IP are signed over (for this case ME2, and 3 would have also been Xbox exclusives), or like Microsoft was directly involved in the development, or publishing process.

Darn it, I bought ME1 when it was slashed on Origin in the hope that one day I'd own a PC(well laptop) that can play it.

Does anyone know if the choices from the ME1 version can carry over to ME2 and ME3 on the PS3? It seems to me that maybe they wouldn't have bothered to stick that bit of code on the PS3 versions, but if they do carry over, it'd be well worth checking out

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:So how exactly have they got ME1 onto the PS3? I was under the impression that Microsoft had the rights to that one, and I can't see them being all that thrilled with Sony getting their mitts on it.

it was probably an exclusivity deal with EA, and EA was the actual owner. you would be right if it came out of a Microsoft dev studio, but realistically what probably happened was that it was Microsoft owned the exclusive rights to ME1 for X years in exchange for assistance with marketing and distribution (which is pretty sweet as it drives down the actual cost of post production), and after x years the publisher can then sell copies on other systems it as they see fit.

realistically the only time "exclusive" is written in stone is when the rights to the IP are signed over (for this case ME2, and 3 would have also been Xbox exclusives), or like Microsoft was directly involved in the development, or publishing process.

I don't really see the point to this, considering that the 3rd one probably isn't done milking the DLC cow just yet. I think I'll wait for the Ultimate Total Citadel Edition, or whatever they end up calling the one that actually has all the stuff once the 3rd one is finally finished...

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:So how exactly have they got ME1 onto the PS3? I was under the impression that Microsoft had the rights to that one, and I can't see them being all that thrilled with Sony getting their mitts on it.

it was probably an exclusivity deal with EA, and EA was the actual owner. you would be right if it came out of a Microsoft dev studio, but realistically what probably happened was that it was Microsoft owned the exclusive rights to ME1 for X years in exchange for assistance with marketing and distribution (which is pretty sweet as it drives down the actual cost of post production), and after x years the publisher can then sell copies on other systems it as they see fit.

realistically the only time "exclusive" is written in stone is when the rights to the IP are signed over (for this case ME2, and 3 would have also been Xbox exclusives), or like Microsoft was directly involved in the development, or publishing process.

They were. Microsoft published the first one. Hence my confusion.

then it would actually be the reverse situation that does happen, but less often of: publisher A (EA) wants to buy the rights to the IP that is in possession of publisher B (Microsoft), and the reason it doesn't happen that often is a case of price point (for the IP), exclusions, and name recognition. name recognition wasn't a problem because it was going from Microsoft to EA which both are considered "pretty good", price point falls to a closed door thing. Then exclusions would be similar to the exclusivity deal that I talked about before. just be glad that this is only comparative to what happens in the movie industry, but to a minor level.

If it's some sort of GOTY deal with the DLC included (Lair of the Shadow Broker is canon after all), then it's a good deal, otherwise it's a pretty shit deal.

I mean, the games themselves are all relatively easy to find cheaper than 60$ (according to amazon, 13+14+23=50 plus shipping), but it's all the DLC that are a fucking pain in the ass and never go on sale.

Rogue 09:Would somebody please explain to me how Mass Effect is a good story? Villains are various and never well developed, the main character is completely wooden no matter what path you choose, and (speaking of choosing paths) the whole game is basically an invisible hallway simulator. It's a space game where there is no space gameplay. You are captain of a point and click ship. It was no different than the Kings quest games. Move something around and click on anything that lights up.

Terrible series. I had high expectations for it and it delivered on none of them.

Its choose your own adventure book with good character development that goes shooty~shooty bang~bang. Mostly people think it is better then it is because of the emotion connection with the game, combine with the comfort with familiar game play elements. Its comfort food. Its not the best in the world, but it is rather enjoyable. Which is why people give it higher praise then it deserves. The thing is its one of those games, even when you have beaten you want to play again. Even when you have new games to play. The first and the second together make a pretty decent Bioware game. 3 is the one that sucks, because its where it ends. Its the same reason why T3:Rise of the Machines sucks.

Oddly enough the multiplayer does a better job of telling the story of 3 then the single player. Since there it does feel like a war, and the people you are fighting with are your buddies that you care for. There has been more times where I got into a feral rage over someone getting killed, then in the single player. There was a time or two where I was able to take out an entire wave of enemies by myself, because I was pissed off that they killed my squad mate. Just so that he could come back alive for the next round. That made for a great experience that I keep coming back to every time I can afford it.

I knew at some point they will release a triliogy box especially for the PC but my brother was like "Just buy the individual games already!".I can assume the the pc version will be in good/ decent quality and not a direct port like Dark Souls: Prepared to Die edition!

I've got no real problem with this... unless they put in some exclusive content or something. That'll tick me off royally. I've picked up every ME game on (or near) release. I'm the one (the loyal customer) they should be thanking, not some muppet climbing onboard at the end of the show.

Unfortunately... somehow companies never think like that. The incentives always to the undecided, because the fans have already given you their money, so they're no longer valuable. Makes me feel physically ill to think how stupid the people in charge of games companies are.

Well this is a bit of a waste. PS3 folk aside, I can't imagine there are too many people that wanted all three games that don't have them already. Now if they had taken the time and money to port the first two games to ME3's engine and ironed out some of the more egregious mechanical problems (like the option to nix that stupid single context sensitive button assignment), I'd be all over it. But this seems like nothing more than a cheap money grab (again, aside from the PS3 folk).

Hmmm... another good reason to own a PS3, the entire Mass Effect Trilogy... color me interested. Also, it would be nice if it included every single piece of DLC, although as this is EA we're dealing with here, I highly doubt it.

Rogue 09:Would somebody please explain to me how Mass Effect is a good story? Villains are various and never well developed, the main character is completely wooden no matter what path you choose, and (speaking of choosing paths) the whole game is basically an invisible hallway simulator. It's a space game where there is no space gameplay. You are captain of a point and click ship. It was no different than the Kings quest games. Move something around and click on anything that lights up.

Terrible series. I had high expectations for it and it delivered on none of them.

Mass Effect 1 had potential (that wasn't lived up to in the sequels), the stories for the other two were poor.

The driving force behind the series and why it has such a huge fanbase are the characters, Bioware excels at making decent characters. I have never seen a series where people get so passionate about them, and it's normally them and their arcs that people are fond of, as opposed to the actual main plot of taking on the Reapers.

BrotherRool:Darn it, I bought ME1 when it was slashed on Origin in the hope that one day I'd own a PC(well laptop) that can play it.

Does anyone know if the choices from the ME1 version can carry over to ME2 and ME3 on the PS3? It seems to me that maybe they wouldn't have bothered to stick that bit of code on the PS3 versions, but if they do carry over, it'd be well worth checking out

The games themselves would be identical on all platforms graphics/performance aside. There would be no point having a port if they didn't anyway.

I would have thought they would have wanted to finish ME3's DLC cycle, before doing something like this, so that it is truly complete -- then again; Maybe the old ME1 publishing rights contract expired recently and maybe they want to get some extra DLC bucks from newly hooked players...

I wonder if they are taking the time to clean up the handful of incorrectly set plot flags and maybe making the savegame transition a little more seamless (just an little automagic-detection: "This is your last saved game in the previous episode. Import?", thing).

Rogue 09:Would somebody please explain to me how Mass Effect is a good story? Villains are various and never well developed, the main character is completely wooden no matter what path you choose, and (speaking of choosing paths) the whole game is basically an invisible hallway simulator. It's a space game where there is no space gameplay. You are captain of a point and click ship. It was no different than the Kings quest games. Move something around and click on anything that lights up.

Terrible series. I had high expectations for it and it delivered on none of them.

Mass Effect 1 had potential (that wasn't lived up to in the sequels), the stories for the other two were poor.

The driving force behind the series and why it has such a huge fanbase are the characters, Bioware excels at making decent characters. I have never seen a series where people get so passionate about them, and it's normally them and their arcs that people are fond of, as opposed to the actual main plot of taking on the Reapers.

As a Mass Effect fan, I have to agree (sort of, I disagree that the stories for ME2 and 3 were poor, or at least, if they were poor, ME1's wasn't any better. ME2 is actually the best story of the three for me.)

The main story arc is relatively standard fayre for anybody who's played any kind of RPG before. Not necessarily bad per se, but certainly rather generic (although, as generic, all-powerful, world-ending plot devices go, the Reapers are pretty damn imposing, even if there is an element of "Please, I'm a Gamer! I've saved three different Galaxies this afternoon alone. What have you got?")

But yeah, where the series really excels is its focus on characters. There's a line I recall by Mordin in ME2, when he's talking about his nephew... I can't remember exactly what was said, but the gist of it was that, while saving the Galaxy is a noble goal, no mind can possibly care about every single being in the Universe. To be really invested in a fight, you have to be fighting for something personal to you. I care about the story in Mass Effect not because there's anything particularly special about the plot, but because the characters to me are more realised as fully-formed personalities than in any other game I've played, and I genuinely care about getting the best outcome for them in their world.

What they're not telling you is that all three games are going to require a constant connection to Origin, No DLC will be included and all of the DLC for each game (including previously free DLC) will be sold Day 1 at $10 a pop with no discounts.